Messages from our Awards Partners
QinetiQ
Innovation Award
Diversity is essential to innovation. At QinetiQ, it’s at the heart of our business - so QinetiQ is delighted to sponsor the Innovation category.
We are committed to a diverse and inclusive business; where differences are embraced and make our whole team stronger worldwide. We believe that the Women in Defence Awards provide a key route to showcase the vital contribution of women in our sector. Collaborating across defence through WID is a powerful way to collectively drive change and ensure that the role of women goes from strength to strength.
Michelle Cummins
Group HR Director
Thales
Inspirational Award
Thales is delighted to, once again, sponsor the Inspirational Award at this year’s Women in Defence Awards. At Thales we pride ourselves on being a world leader in technology and innovation across all our market sectors; defence, aerospace, security, transportation and space. Delivering cutting edge innovation requires a huge diversity of thought, skills and experiences and this is reflected in our need for a truly diverse workforce which we are working towards as a strategic objective. We are immensely proud of the work that we undertake on behalf of the UK Armed Forces and are honoured to be the employer of choice for many women with backgrounds in defence including engineers, project managers and members of the armed forces – both veterans and active reservists. I hope the outstanding accomplishments of women in defence will inspire others to follow in their footsteps, and as such we are delighted to take part in celebrating the success of great female talent within the defence enterprise.
Victor Chavez CBE
Chief Executive, Thales
Aspire Defence
Most Collaborative Award
As a major MOD contractor, we are committed to recognising and rewarding the huge contribution our people make to defence, through their hard work, passion and dedication. Women hold senior positions across our business and their influence is key to our success. These Awards are therefore a perfect ‘fit’ for Aspire Defence and we are delighted to offer our support once again for such a worthwhile endeavour.
Allan Thomson
Chief Executive, Aspire Defence Limited
BAE Systems
Outstanding Contribution Award
BAE Systems, we value diversity and Inclusion. It benefits our people and helps our business grow. A diverse workforce encourages innovation, improves productivity and brings us closer to our customers. ‘So we are proud to recognise and celebrate the work of women in the UK’s defence industry by once again sponsoring the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ category.
John McCollum
Engineering Director, BAE Systems
Atos
Promotion of Gender Balance Award
Atos is proud to once again be a part of the Women in Defence Awards and to be sponsoring the gender balance award for the third year in a row. Across all industries and roles, ensuring fairness and progression of women in the workplace should be a priority. This programme and the extraordinary people involved will help to break down barriers and create opportunities for women everywhere.
Lisa Colman
CEO Worldline UK&I
Dell EMC
Unsung Heroines Award
As an organisation that champions diversity and works across sectors and industries that are facing disruption, we know all too well how easy it is for valuable insight and talent to remain hidden. Dell EMC are delighted to support the Unsung Heroines category at the Women in Defence UK Awards; helping to recognise the contribution of those who work in the defence of our nation to deliver a safer future for all, especially as the threat landscape they protect us from reshapes day to day.
Claire Vyvyan
Senior Vice President, Dell EMC UK&I Commercial Business
AECOM
Sparkling Wine Reception
2018 marks AECOM’s third year of partnering with the Women in Defence Awards, and I am delighted that we are able to continue to recognise and celebrate the essential contribution of talented women across the sector. Through our sponsorship of these awards and our ongoing support of the inspirational and ground-breaking Ice Maidens expedition across the Antarctic, we have the opportunity to clearly demonstrate our commitment to women in the defence forces. As a long-term strategic partner to governments across the world, we are reliant on the hard work and dedication of the brilliant women we employ to deliver the complex engineering and technical support services required by our defence and military clients.
The 2017 awards ceremony was an overwhelming success, and I have no doubt that this year’s ceremony will follow suit - highlighting the incredible achievements of the inspiring women who help to make this sector a success, keeping the people of the UK safe and showing future generations of women that they too can make significant contributions to defence work.
David Swindle
Chief Executive, Global Defense and International Programmes, AECOM
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Northrop Grumman
STEM in Defence Award
We are delighted to be sponsoring the Women in Defence UK Awards once again and in particular to be supporting the STEM in Defence category. This a great opportunity to acknowledge the importance of diversity and inclusion, to recognise the contributions made by women, and to encourage and support women to achieve their goals. Science-based expertise is at the very heart of the high-technology culture of our industry. We are committed to promoting STEM education to help inspire young men and women to pursue academic studies and careers in STEM-related areas. These efforts are critically important in developing a diverse pipeline of future talent. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of all of those who have been nominated and selected for these awards.
Nick Chaffey
Chief Executive, Northrop Grumman, UK & Europe
DXC Technology
Special Award
I am delighted to be supporting the Women in Defence Awards once again in 2019.
The 40 plus years relationship that DXC Technology and its founding partners has with the Ministry of Defence is testament to the commitment and contribution of our diverse work who often go above and beyond to ensure the operation of our armed forces. As an organisation, I’m proud that DXC champions women throughout their careers. Our Women in Leadership Employee Group offers training and mentoring for women aspiring to leadership roles, whilst we actively encourage women at the start of their careers through our STEM Ambassador volunteer programme.
I wish all of the 2019 Women in Defence nominees a successful year.
Jim Thompson
VP Defence, DXC Technology
The Army
Emerging Talent Award
We’re immensely proud of the contribution that women make to the British Army. Our female officers and soldiers are fully supported in maximising their talents and achieving their potential. The British Army offers exciting and rewarding opportunities for all its people, regardless of gender.
Lieutenant General Tim Radford CB DSO OBE
The Army
Royal Air Force
Inclusive Teamwork Award
There can be no higher priority for the Royal Air Force than ensuring we have the people we need and harnessing their full potential. I am delighted the Royal Air Force can demonstrate our commitment to gender equality by sponsoring the ‘Inclusive Teamwork’ category in the Women in Defence Awards. As the RAF Diversity and Inclusion Champion, I am proud to recognise the vital contributions made by women across Defence, and I look forward to celebrating some incredible individuals and teams.
AIR MARSHAL M WIGSTON CBE
Deputy Commander Capability and Air Member for Personnel and Capability (AMP&C)
Royal Air Force
Airbus
Platinum Sponsor
I am delighted that Airbus is once again sponsoring the Women in Defence awards for the third year running, and honoured to be speaking on the night. The awards are rightly already recognised as a flagship event in the UK defence calendar, promoting gender diversity and recognising the achievements and valuable contributions of women in defence. They also have a key role to play in encouraging future generations to pursue careers in this field. I have had the privilege of attending both of the previous award ceremonies, and was humbled by the incredible accomplishments and the stories behind them. 2018 marks the centenary year of the RAF, in which Airbus are proud supporters, and as such it is even more poignant that this year we should celebrate women in defence. Airbus is the biggest supplier of large aircraft to the RAF, and so the UK MoD is a key customer and valued partner for us. The promotion of gender diversity continues to be vital for both industry and military, and I look forward to the awards on 6th November.
Sophie Thomas
Zephyr Programme Manager, Airbus
PA Consulting Group
Woman of the Year Award
We continue to be inspired by the achievements of women in the Defence Sector and the impact that they can have on their organisations and wider society. As founding sponsor we are therefore delighted to be able to demonstrate our continued support to the awards ceremony, in particular for Woman of the Year Award.
Claire Logan
Global Head of People and Talent